Fifteen Things You Didn't Know About Molly Hooper
by High-Functioning Ginger
Summary: Molly Hooper. Friend of Sherlock Holmes. Pathologist. Cat-lover. Beyond that no one really knows anything about her. Until now.
1. Chapter 1

_**AN: Molly is one of my favorite characters. I think there is a lot more to her than most people realize and I figured it was about time she got some attention and back-story. Let me know your thoughts – Hopefully everything fits her character.**_

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**1**. She has a twin brother. Timothy is his given name but everyone calls him Al. She's not really sure why, but it was a name he chose in primary school and it stuck. He always calls her Lolly. It's better than the more common "Molls" which has always irritated her for some reason. Al works for a publishing company in London and always keeps hers up to date on the newest books that are being released and book signings or special events. He even got her an autographed copy of Deathly Hallows.

**2**. As you probably gather from the previous fact she is a total bookworm. Seriously, she reads constantly. Even at the dinner table. Especially at the table, because it distracts her from the fact that she is eating alone. She will read anything you give her except romance novels. They're depressing because they give unrealistic expectations. But sci-fi, historical fiction, horror, detective novels, fantasy, classic literature, poetry, mythology are all in her library. Which basically is her entire flat.

**3.** She is a bit of a nerd. Okay, a big nerd. She loves Dr Who and Harry Potter. Simply adores them. Luna and Hermione are her favorite characters and she fancies herself a Hufflepuff. Donna is her favorite Dr Who companion, though she does feel a bit of kinship with Martha. She also loved Sarah Jane and fancies Jack Harkness just a bit.

**4.** She loves disco music. I know, it sounds bizarre, with her being such a quiet girl, but it's true. It's just so much fun. She even dances to it, when no one is watching of course. Well no one except her cat Toby. Actually he tends to hide when she starts dancing...

**5**. She went through that awkward stage in her teen years where she had to have braces and glasses. Well it was more than a stage really. Unfortunately for her self-esteem it began when she was thirteen and lasted until she was seventeen. She finally got contacts before going to Uni and was asked out on her first date a week into classes. His name was Daniel and he was studying neurology. They dated for three months but he broke it off because she refused to sleep with him.

**6.** She has always had a fascination with geniuses. While most girls obsessed over members of a boy-band or a cute celebrity she devoted her time and attention to studying great minds of the past. Leonardo Da Vinci. Einstein. Madame Curie. Those are her idols. She supposes that's part of why she fell head-over-heels for Sherlock.

**7.** She knows she doesn't have a chance with Sherlock. No way in hell. And she isn't waiting around for him. She's not stupid. But it's a nice fantasy at times and she simply cannot resist his smiles. How often is it that he smiles at someone anyway? Even if it is fake. And yes, she knows that it's all an act. But she likes helping him solve all those horrible murders and if she has to seem like a bit of a pushover, than so be it.

**8.** She wanted to be a policewoman when she was growing up. Her best friend's mother had served on the force for nearly twelve years. She was tough and smart. Molly always looked up to her. But she soon realized it wasn't the path for her and redirected herself towards a career that fit her intellectual personality. She was originally tracked to become a forensic scientist but somehow ended up as a pathologist instead. She can't exactly explain the outcome, but she's happy where she is. She also considered becoming an astronomer, but that was more born of her love for Dr Who than anything else.

**9.** She loves strawberry ice cream. Adores it. And it has nothing to do with the fact that it's her favorite color - that's just a perk. Usually she's very health conscious, she's even vegetarian, but she always has a carton of strawberry ice cream in her freezer. Always.

**10.** She was once engaged. His name was Ryan and she dated him for a year and a half. He was a male nurse who worked at Bart's. He proposed to her one sunny June day in Hyde Park. Got down on one knee with a diamond ring and everything. But she said "No." She'd been thinking about breaking it off for a while but didn't have the heart. However when he said "I would love to come home to you cooking a fabulous dinner and laughing with the kids." she just couldn't accept. He wanted a stay at home wife and mother. She wanted a career. They parted on amiable terms, but she hasn't had a long-term relationship since.

**11.** While we're on the topic - she doesn't like diamonds. That has nothing to do with her rejecting his proposal of course, but it's worth mentioning. They're pretty enough, but rather boring in her opinion. She likes color in her jewelry. Sapphires are her favorite gemstone and she would love to have a heart-shaped Sapphire ring the next time she gets engaged. Whenever that is...

**12.** Winter is her favorite time of year. Yes it's cold, but she loves dressing in layers and being able to bundle up in a blanket by the fire. With a good book, of course. She loves the smell of winter, crisp cold air mingled with the earthy spices of the season. And of course Christmas is her favorite holiday. She volunteers at the local soup-kitchen every year and often spends her Christmas Eve's there, singing carols while she serves the food.

**13.** She has only gotten drunk twice in her life. Once was at Al's twenty first birthday party. Usually she was very careful when it came to alcohol, but they played a drinking game and she got caught up in the revelry. Soon enough she was dancing on the tables singing Funkytown and Bohemian Rhapsody at the top of her lungs. The second time was at her friend, Linda's bachelorette party. She awoke the next morning with a butterfly tattoo on her shoulder blade and no memory of getting it. Luckily it's fairly small and done in a lovely purple so she doesn't mind it.

**14.** She loves dogs, but can't have them. She cannot control them. She hates training, because she can never be firm enough and doesn't have the heart to scold them when they do something wrong. It's the same reason she'll never have kids. They would run circles around her. She had one once, a dog I mean. Jenny was her name and she was a yellow lab puppy. Sweetest thing you would ever meet. But she was a little furry ball of energy who had a horrible shoe-chewing habit. Molly kept her for two months before she finally had to rehome her. After that she stuck with cats, because there is no need for training.

**15.** She caught sight of Greg staring several times at the Christmas party. That party was the best she's ever been to. Even though Sherlock was a complete arse to her about the gift she finally stood up to him and he actually apologized. Not to mention the kiss. That coupled with the attention from Greg made for a very nice evening. She's fancied him from a distance for awhile now and is glad that the interest might be returned. She plans to invite him out for coffee once the divorce is settled. Maybe they'll go see a movie too.

**If convenient please review; if inconvenient review anyway.**

**KP**


	2. Chapter Two

_**AN: I enjoyed creating chp one so much I couldn't resist continuing. So here are another 15 things you didn't know.**_

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**1.** She usually does her best to avoid conflict. She doesn't enjoy arguing and really, really hates fighting. But she does on occasion. The most memorable was when she got into a fight when she was fifteen. She was in the hallway getting books from her locker when she heard a couple of rugby jocks hurling gay slurs at a friendly boy who sat behind her in history, Evan. She shouted at them to leave him alone, which they ignored, of course. Then they shoved him against the locker. Furious, she chucked her literature textbook across the hall at them without a thought and hit one of them on the head. It wasn't a well thought out attack and she probably would've gotten the crap beaten out of her if it hadn't been for Al. He was tall for his age and known around the school as being someone you didn't mess with. They tackled her to the ground and landed her a black-eye before Al threw them off. He insisted on taking pictures of her with that black-eye because he was "So damn proud."

2. Her mother is a very meek woman. She's kind, not overly intelligent, and works part-time as a secretary. Same thing she's always done. Her father is a different story. He's a lawyer and ruled the family with an iron fist. He wasn't cruel or overly controlling. He just had very specific ideas and rules and demanded they be followed. He wanted Molly to become a teacher and marry young and for Al to come work for his firm. Neither of them followed his orders and they rarely see their parents because of it. Molly doesn't mind too much though, because whenever they do see them her mother always nags at her about finding a husband.

3. Al has always been a rebel rouser. When they were seventeen he came out as gay. It was a lie actually, meant to rile up her father, but he was very convincing. He even went out with a guy, Rick, a few times to make his story float. Molly knew from the beginning that it was an act and enjoyed every minute. When he brought home a pretty brunette girl a few months later their mom cried she was so relieved. Their father on the other hand thought it meant he was bisexual and refused to speak to him for nearly a year. Al didn't mind much.

4. Dating Jim is one of the best things that ever happened to her. Yes, it turned out he was a psychopath but it gave her a major confidence boost. Because she dated a mad killer. She broke up with a murderous lunatic. And she survived. Not only that, but it turned out that for once she was right and Sherlock was wrong. He wasn't gay. It was just an act. So, ha!

5. She loves coffee. Really, really loves coffee. It's almost an addiction. Seriously there are weeks that she lives off of it. She never thought she would drink it, because up until the time she was in Uni she'd always found it too bitter. But one night she had to pull an all night study session and she decided to give it another shot. She walked to the Starbucks on campus and got herself an espresso. She was hooked from then on. Of course she couldn't afford a Starbucks espresso very often, so she had to settle for the coffee at the cafeteria, but she made do. She takes it with a little cream and absolutely no sugar. Under any circumstances. Coffee isn't meant to be sweet in her mind. You take it as the bitter earthy drink it is or not at all. Though she will never tell Sherlock this.

6. She is first born. Yes, she and Al are twins, but she was born five minutes and twenty seconds before him. Which is kind of bizarre, because Al has always acted like the older sibling. But I guess that's just how things go. Anyway, the year they were set to turn eleven they decided that they were tired of sharing a birthday. They bickered for two days as to who should keep the original birthday and who should have to choose a new one. Finally they took it up with their father. He determined that since Molly is technically older she should get "first dibs" on her birth-date. She chose to keep her actual birthday and Al got stuck with celebrating his the weekend after.

7. When she was younger, like seven, she had a totally irrational fear of mummies. It just started one day. They terrified her and she even had a few nightmares about being chased by them. She couldn't even be in the same room if her parents were watching a documentary on ancient Egypt. It disappeared as suddenly as it arrived and now she spends her days surrounded by dead bodies. Funny how things work.

8. She has a thing for guys who wear glasses. She's not usually the sort who has specific physical criteria and she certainly doesn't have a "type". Daniel had curly blonde hair and hazel eyes. Ryan had short brown hair and green eyes. But she really loves guy in glasses. Especially if he has blue eyes. There is just something about dark glasses and blue eyes that get her. After all brainy is the new sexy.

9. Once she went on a shopping trip with her friend, Linda, and she bought a rose colored miniskirt. It was impulsive and ridiculous because she will probably never wear it. But Linda insisted she try it on and she loved how she looked in it and how she felt. She felt fun, flirty and sexy. That was a foreign feeling for her. Yet she has yet to muster up the courage to actually wear it out and it sits in her closet, still in the bag, collecting dust. Yet she's hesitant to get rid of it, because she thinks maybe one day she'll get up the nerve to wear it. At least, she hopes she will.

10. She likes graveyards. It's completely morbid, I know. But they're interesting to her. She likes to wander and read the tombstones, trying to conjure up stories in her mind about the departed resting beneath them. She sometimes even brings flowers for the graves in the older section of the cemetery, the ones that know one bothers with anymore because the family and friends have passed on as well.

11. The first time she met Sherlock he was high as a kite. His drug-addled judgment determined that it would be a good idea to sneak into the morgue to examine bodies from the latest murder. She found out later that he had been banned from the case because he'd relapsed. She found him mumbling nonsensical rubbish. She's not sure why she didn't call the police. Something just told her not to, and she's always been one to follow her instincts. So instead she managed to get a hold of his phone and checked the speed-dial. Lestrade was number one. She dialed and explained the situation; Lestrade said he'd be there in fifteen minutes. So she sat with him on the floor and listened to his ramblings about the case until Lestrade arrived. He thanked her for watching after him and practically carried Sherlock into his police car. One week later she read in the newspaper that the man Sherlock has been rambling about, Dr. Nelson, was arrested for murder. She wasn't sure what to make of this and put the incident from her mind. She didn't see him for another two months and had nearly forgotten about him, when he showed up one afternoon. He was clean and entirely coherent and had her a stuttering mess within a few moments. She let him in to look at the bodies for an investigation. Two days later he texted her (she still isn't sure how he got her number) and asked if she had a spare body parts that he could use for experimenting. She responded with a fair size list and an odd sort of friendship was formed.

12. The night after Sherlock texted her she was visited by Mycroft's assistant, Melody. At least that's what she said her name was. She was waiting in Molly's flat when she arrived home and took her to an abandoned parking garage. There she met Mycroft, who she realized was his brother after she got back home, hours later. Once she calmed down it became obvious to her, because of his deductive reasoning abilities and his obvious concern for Sherlock. He drilled her, in his own dignified manner, about her connection to him, what sort of relationship she had with him and whether or not she intended to take it to another level. Once he determined she was not a threat he let her go, with a promise to "Keep in touch." Which he does, calling her periodically to check in on Sherlock.

13. She and Mike are buddies. They got out for lunch once a week for lunch and chat. He's friendly and funny and she loves hanging out with him. They swap gossip amongst the departments and share news and complain about co-workers. And Sherlock. They were supposed to go out for Italian the day he brought John in. But she cancelled because Sherlock was there working and she wasn't going to pass up a chance to be around him. She smiles whenever she thinks of it because if she had kept with the plan and gone out with Mike then he never would've run into John and Sherlock would never have met him. And the irony of it all is that she thinks Sherlock and John might be falling for each other and it's because of her.

14. She has always wanted to play the piano. Ever since she was little. But her father thought music lessons were frivolous and refused to let her take them. When she grew up and moved into a flat she considered it, but would be embarrassed to be an adult just starting out, when there are kids who can play complex sonatas. Plus there isn't room in her flat for a piano or keyboard.

15. She loves writing letters. Yes, it is horribly old fashioned and emails are much quicker and more efficient. Even phone calls are preferable. But there is an old-world elegance to letters that she adores. Of course most people complain when the receive letters from her because they're outdated. So she settles for sending out holiday cards with letters every Christmas. Oddly enough, no one complains about that.

_**If convenient please review; if inconvenient review anyway.**_


	3. Chapter Three

_**AN: Some holiday themed Molly facts – Enjoy!**_

Christmas used to be tied with Halloween as her favorite holiday. She loved the lights and trees, the happy music and the generally warm and gay feel of the whole season. Her family has delightful traditions. They always volunteered at a local charity, usually an animal shelter. They went shopping specifically for jumpers and it was a bit of a contact between her and Al as to who could find the ugliest one. They'd pull it on over their pajamas Christmas morning when they went down to open their gifts and stockings. But it's all different now. Her father died when she was 18 and her mother passed on when she was 23. Despite it she and Al tried to keep the season festive on their own for a few years, but it fizzled out. They both got busy with their lives. Now she spends Christmas alone, sipping hot cider and re-watching her favorite Christmas movies. Halloween is definitely the better holiday now.

2. Her favorite Christmas movie is the Christmas Carol. Any version of it. She's seen all of them. And she owns the book, which she reads every year without fail.

3. She loves to sing Christmas carols. She knows the words to almost all of them and she is constantly humming to herself. When she's at home cleaning, or out shopping. When she's in the morgue working. That does unnerve some people. Apparently singing _"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"_ while dissecting the midsection of a thirty-three year old male isn't a good thing...

4. She loves to ice-skate. It's the only time she ever feels graceful. Her mother signed her up for classes when she was twelve years old and Molly nearly cried. She was sure that she would make a fool of herself on the ice. But surprisingly enough, she didn't. She fell down the first few tires, like everyone does, but then caught on. The classes only lasted a few months, then Molly just practiced on her own. It's been awhile though. She and Al used to go every year, but he doesn't have time anymore. She doesn't like going to the rink on her own. It's lonely on the ice surrounded by laughing couples and families teaching their kids for the first time. She still goes down to watch the other skaters sometimes though. Just to see a bit of happiness in the world.

5. Every year she and Al exchange ornaments for gifts. They are always homemade. The tradition started off when they were nine. They both spent all of their allowance on gift for their parents and had nothing left over to spend on each other. They were both proud of using their own money for gifts so they refused to ask their parents for extra cash. Instead they decided to make each other ornaments. Al made her a bright red cat cut from felt. She made him a candy-cane from clay since it was his favorite candy. The ornaments got more sophisticated over the years and she even took a glass blowing class one year. Al complained though, saying her fancy ornaments made his look like primary school crafts.

6. Sending Christmas card is a big deal for her. She does it every year. She doesn't just buy a box of cards either. She picks one out for everyone on her list and signs them with a personalized message. She usually spends an entire weekend on this. The only downside is that she rarely gets any in return. Some of her friends from Uni send them, but they're always impersonal and vague.

7. One of the best Christmas presents she's ever received was from Sherlock of all people. You guessed it, that kiss at the holiday party. Greg's ogling was nice too.

8. The worst present she ever received was from Sherlock as well. The December after his "suicide" he sent her a Christmas card. It was a cheap flimsy thing, with a smiling snowman on the front. It simply read _"Still alive. Wish John a Happy Christmas for me. Or at least ensure he has one"_ After reading it she promptly ripped it into bits and flung them into her fire-place. She regretted it afterwards though.

9. Mistletoe makes her sad. It's a strange thing, but true. Maybe it's because she's never been kissed under it. Maybe it's because everything under it seems part of an illusion. At Christmas time it's easy to be in love. But when real life rolls around those pecks under the greenery don't mean a thing. She never hangs any and is careful to avoid places that do.

10. She doesn't have a lot of people to buy gifts for. Al is her only family. She doesn't have many friends. So she buys gifts for Toby. Every year he gets a new collar and bed. She also gets him catnip and toys. It seems silly, but shopping is one of her favorite parts of the season. She loves giving gifts and it doesn't matter to her if the receiver has fur or not.

**You always say the nicest things...every time...So please review**


End file.
